Archive for July 2008

And now, the last in our series exploring, Ten Persuasive Answers to the Question: “Why Not Gay ‘Marriage?'”

Question #9: Are the Needs of Kids or Adults More Important?

Question #10: Does Gender Really Matter?

If you have enjoyed this series, you may purchase the DVD and booklet directly from Focus on the Family by clicking here.

We also encourage you to consider contributing to the campaign to defend marriage in California by going to www.protectmarriage.com and giving generously. Pray and stay informed as voters in Arizona (azformarriage.org) and Florida (www.yes2marriage.org) also work to defend against the redefinition of marriage by politicians and judges.

Finally, check in often at our blog and at our website (www.familypolicywv.com). In the coming weeks, we will be unveiling our plans to strengthen marriage in West Virginia. Your partnership with us is critical. Please visit our website, sign up for our e-news, and give to support our mission. Thanks!

It could be said that Jim Spiegel has an interesting way of looking at the world. As a professor of philosophy, that’s to be expected. Filled with curiosity and knowledge, Spiegel is among the more interesting persons to talk to.

So are his kids.

In Gum, Geckos, and God: A Family’s Adventure in Space, Time, and Faith, Spiegel recounts conversations with his children on the questions that most kids ask, but few parents answer with such patience and eloquence. You know, those easy questions like, “What’s God Like?” and “Why Does God Love Us?” Though Spiegel carries the heady weight of a professor of philosophy, his newest book answers the questions of these innocents with approachable wisdom – not to mention humor and pathos.

So, why is a blog, otherwise dedicated to discussing matters of policy, law, and the family taking time out of its regular programming to interview Jim Spiegel? Well, that’s more of a question for him.

Below, find our first in what we hope will be an ongoing series of blog interviews with with experts on topics that matter to the family.

Q: Jim, tell us a little about yourself. Who are you? What do you do? Why do you do it?

A: I teach philosophy at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. And I strive to extend my teaching ministry through my publications. More importantly, I am husband to Amy Spiegel, and together we are raising four wonderful kids, two of whom figure prominently in my latest book, Gum, Geckos, and God. Amy and I are also colaborers on our new blog: wisdomandfollyblog.com.

Q: Why have you written Gum, Geckos, and God?

A: To provide a primer on Christian worldview which both explains the basic doctrines of the faith and shows why they are so reasonable. It is a worldview that can be grasped by a small child but can also tantalized the most profound minds. My book aims to illustrate why this is so.

Q: While we are engaged in the debate involving the policies our state and nation adopt, our work for life, marriage, and religious freedom really is rooted in a discussion of worldview. How does Gum, Geckos, and God contribute to the development of our children’s worldview?

A: The book will inspire parents to be more intentional about training their children to think Christianly about all things, from science to art to sports. Today, America’s cultural inertia is not on the side of biblical convictions, so parents must engage their kids with this in mind.

Q: From the book, it appears that you and your wife Amy (who makes delicious cookies, if memory serves) appear to have a textbook answer for every question your children pose to you. What might you say to those without a degree in philosophy?

I’d say, what are you waiting for? Go get a PhD! Seriously, though, any devoted parent can engage his/her child at the level of worldview. Its simply a matter of seizing the opportunities as they arise. Even if readers’ kids don’t pose the same questions that our kids have, I expect that readers will still find the anedotes and stories helpful. They should also be humored by some of the ways my wife and I have been completely stumped by our kids!

Q: As we work to encourage our political leaders to make the family the first priority (and not an afterthought), are there thoughts and lessons outlined in your book that we can use to encourage our leaders to stand for life, marriage, and religious freedom?

A: I would emphasize that the same fact should encourage us in both these political matters and in our work as parents. This fact is that there is such a thing as absolute truth, and God is its source. We can formulate public policies about all sorts of things, but unless they are grounded in an ultimate authority, then it is just human opinion and wanton relativism.

Q: Where can people get a copy of your book?

A: The book is available at Christian bookstores everywhere, as well as on-line, such as at Amazon.com.

Q: Do you have plans for GGG2: A Family’s Journey Through the Teen Years?

A: Hmm… Now that’s a great idea. I’ll keep this in mind for 2018!

Q: Are you available for speaking engagements? If so, how can people schedule you at their church, civic club, or birthday party?

A: They can contact me directly at jmspiegel@taylor.edu.

Q: This is probably the most pivotal of all questions: If the Cubs adopted Mac the gecko as their unofficial mascot, do you think they could actually be playing baseball in October?

A: This is unquestionably the case. Now if we can only persuade the Cubs’ management…

Tomorrow, the last in the series, “Ten Persuasive Answers to the Question: Why not Same-Sex ‘Marriage?’ – question #9: Are the Needs of Kids or Adults More Important? and question #10: Does Gender Really Matter?

Continuing on in our series examining the YouTube version of the DVD, “Ten Persuasive Answers to the Question…’Why Not Gay Marriage?'”

Question #5: What Public Good Does Marriage Provide?

Question #6: Is it Healthy to Experiment with Our Children?

Tomorrow, Family Voice will present its very first blog interview and post the next two installments of this series, question 7 (Haven’t Experts Said Same-Sex Parenting is Fine?) and question 8 (How Do We Know What Kind of Families Kids Need?).

As we continue to review the DVD-turned-YouTube-series produced by Focus on the Family that seeks to provide ten persuasive answers to the question, “Why not same-sex ‘marriage?'” we do so with a slight modification. Originally, it had been planned to air one of these videos per day; however, we have made an executive decision and will now post two per day until all questions have been presented. In addition, this Friday, the Family Voice will host its first blog interview with a special guest, thus interrupting our current series.

With that in mind, questions 3 and 4 are posted below:

Questions #3: Where Does it Stop?

Question #4: Can’t We Have Religious Marriage and Civil Marriage?

Tomorrow, question 5 (What public good does marriage do?) and question 6 (Is it healthy to experiment with our children?).

Have you ever been caught around the water cooler with someone who disagrees with your opposition to same-sex “marriage” and you just didn’t know what to say? Do you feel ambivalent about the homosexual agenda and its attempted redefinition of the family? Are you unable to articulate a gracious response to this fundamental question: Why not homosexual “marriage?”

The Family Policy Council of West Virginia is here to equip you!

Not long ago, ministry partner Focus on the Family created a DVD called, “Ten Persuasive Answers to the Question: Why Not Gay ‘Marriage?'” While it was widely distributed, it is amazing how many have yet to see this production.

Now, thanks to You Tube, its distribution is available worldwide – for free! Over the next week, Family Voice will be running one episode per day. Since today is the second day of the week, we bring you FOUR videos to whet your appetite.

We are compelled to insert a warning at this point: While YouTube is an fine tool to disperse this needed message, our opponents are actively working to corrupt the distribution of this message. Clearly, part of their method is to cloud the “Related Videos” linked beside and at the end of each video with questionable and even obscene content. Unfortunately, we have no control over what YouTube allows to be attached to these videos. Thankfully, it appears that those negative images are only visible when viewed on youtube.com and are not visible when viewed below.

The Family Policy Council of West Virginia does not endorse or condone the policies of YouTube that allow the portrayal of lifestyles destructive to the family to be so widely distributed. Please use discretion in viewing the videos below.

Without further ado, take about 13 minutes to watch the Introduction, Preface, and Questions 1 and 2:

I (Jeremiah G. Dys, Esq.) just had the opportunity to call in to Hoppy Kerchval’s show, “Talkline” and give a brief comment about the importance of abstinence. Hoppy was wondering if we as a culture have gone to far in celebrating the poor choices of some of our teenage celebrities. Chief in the mind of Hoppy was Jamie Lynn Spears who will forever be known for two things: being the sister of Britney Spears and having a famous (or perhaps “infamous”) teenage pregnancy.

Somewhere there has to be a happy cultural medium between treating pregnant teens like The Scarlet Letter’s Hester Prynn and celebrating them with magazine covers.

I wanted to make two points on Hoppy’s show. First, to affirm his supposition – and your commonsense – that the best environment for raising children is in the home of a married mom and dad. That’s what our government policies and culture at large ought to work toward with every fiber of their being. That some environments will not be ideal does not detract from the importance of our society working toward this goal. If that be the ideal, why would we aim for anything lower? As maturing adults, our children need the wisdom that comes from the commonsense of mom and grandma (not to mention, dad and grandpa), such wisdom is full of experience and regret – each of which is a lovely learning opportunity for the lives of the next generation.

The point I did not have the opportunity to make is this: while Grace requires that we forego shaming the pregnant teen (and the witting male accomplice), our young adults have lost the ability to blush. Our world is permeated with sexualization from TV to movies to Walmart and interstate billboards. It’s nearly impossible to purchase a Coke or Pepsi without having some vivacious model encouraging your patronage to his/her brand. As a result, our teenage friends approach sexuality with the casualness of drinking a glass of Mountain Dew.

With the loss of the ability to blush, the next generation has lost the capacity for critical thinking. Or so it would seem. I happen to think this next generation has a tremendous capacity, one that will surpass the ability of their parents. Which is precisely why I choose not to appeal to the lowest common denominator. To say, “They’re going to do it anyway, let’s teach them to do it ‘safely,'” takes the high ability of our maturing children for granted. It makes them to be slaves to their biology, rather than the critically thinking beings they have the capacity for being.

Hoppy’s right, there must be some middle ground between shame and permissiveness. To me it begins with training our children to blush over the things that are beyond their moment, while at the same time working – as a culture and as a part of self-governance – to strengthen the environment of marriage.